For the last few years, many people have been spending money without using physical cash.  Instead, ordering food, shopping online and paying for cabs have all been revolutionized through sites such as GrubHub, Amazon and Uber, respectively.

In addition to this long list of online payments, an app reaching us closer to home, Whoosh!, was introduced to the Syracuse community last week. Whoosh! is a phone app that allows people to pay for their parking spots electronically, and can be found on parking meters all over Syracuse, specifically on Marshall Street.

With this in mind, although cash payments are still common, it will become obsolete and unnecessary among the millennial generation.  Although some prefer to have tangible evidence of their currency, I think the benefits of virtual payment methods far outweigh the heavy load of carrying coins and cash — despite the potential risks that stem from online currency. And everything that once needed to be paid for with paper bills will soon be replaced by the speedy and convenient method of virtual payments.

When students enter college, they become accustomed to life with low amount of paper bills — whether literally or figuratively speaking.  In dining halls, meals are acquired through a simple swipe of an ID card; ATMs are spread across campus and charge an extra fee to extract money; restaurants allow customers to split the bill among several debit cards; even vending machines and most stores on campus accept payment through a student’s university card. So even if some students were used to carrying cash and rarely paying through forms of credit beforehand, college makes it convenient for them to do otherwise.

And this is primarily specific with our generation.  An Aug. 26 Princeton Survey Research Associates International for CreditCards.com discovered a large divide between millennial and credit card users from older generations.

For people aged 50–64 years, approximately 72 percent preferred using cash for payments under five dollars.  On the other hand, 49 percent of those aged 18–29 preferred cash payments.  The survey also showed that the older people get, the more they prefer to pay with cash.

Not only is the increase of virtual forms of payment a safer way to carry currency, it is also very convenient for many. Instead of tracking your expenses manually, your bank account keeps count of transactions and costs of every purchase.  As for credit cards, many banks have a reward system for people that payments in cash simply do not offer.

For example, a Bank of America provides an offer of $100 for online credit card applications.  As for banks like Chase, fans of Disney movies and amusement parks can obtain discounts and rewards after signing up for a Disney Chase credit card.

Unfortunately, although we are on the road to replacing outdated cash payments with electronic ones, there are essential risks in solely relying on credit and debit accounts.  These risks mainly involve cyber attacks against banks, specifically bank account fraud.  This was mainly exemplified when a number of banks, including JPMorgan Chase, were victims of recent cyber attacks.

Fortunately, if a person’s bank account is hacked, the host bank usually insures it. Attempted hacks can also be further avoided by reading through credit card bills, in case there are items that are unaccounted for.

Despite these drawbacks, with the ways consumers in our generation are currently spending money and taking note of the rise in technology, paper bills will soon become obsolete among millennials. The recent parking app introduced to the Syracuse community is simply another step towards an improved, convenient and favorable change in our generation’s form of payment.

Tamara Rasamny is an international relations and newspaper & online journalism dual major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at twrasamn@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @Tam_Rasamny.

 

Published on September 3, 2014 at 12:09 am